Statements

Washington,
Aug 1, 2014 -
Chairman Hal Rogers spoke before the Rules Committee today to present an amendment to H.R. 5230, a bill making supplemental appropriations to address the crisis on the Southwest border.

The text of the statement as prepared follows:

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Rules Committee, I am here before you this morning to submit an amendment to H.R. 5230, to urge the Rules Committee to incorporate this amendment into the bill, and to provide a rule that allows the legislation to quickly proceed to final passage.

"Every day, thousands of immigrants – including children accompanied only by the criminals paid to smuggle them – cross into our nation illegally, and this crisis has come to a head. It would be irresponsible and unstatesmanlike to head home for the month without passing a bill to address this serious problem.

"This legislation provides funding to secure our borders and enforce our laws; to process and shelter unaccompanied children; and to curb the tide of illegal immigration. It maintains a tight rein on spending, offsetting every dollar spent so that this bill won’t drive up our deficit.

"It also includes policy provisions to help us deal with this influx of immigrants and to help prevent this from continuing into the future.

"However, with the amendment submitted today, the bill will now provide a total of $694 million to address this dire situation.

"This is an additional $35 million compared to the underlying legislation, reflecting an increase in funding and transfer authority to reimburse states – including Texas – for National Guard activities related to border security and the current influx of illegal immigrants. This additional $35 million is also fully offset.

"This is a humanitarian crisis, and it is a failure of our border – and we must respond to this now. This bill responsibly and adequately does so, and I hope that my colleagues will support it today. Again, I ask the Rules committee to incorporate this amendment, and provide a rule so that the House can pass this bill as swiftly as possible. Thank you."